Volume 5, No. 3

Promoting Cooperation to Maintain and Enhance
Environmental Quality in the Gulf of Maine

Physical Remediation of Aquaculture Sites, Sept. 20 and 21, in St. Andrews, New Brunswick. Sponsored by the Aquaculture Committee of the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment, speakers will describe physical remediation projects, natural regeneration processes, regulatory issues associated with physical remediation, industry perspective on physical remediation and how nongovernmental organizations approach remediation. For information access please see the workshop's web page.

AquaNet 1: Vision for the Future, AquaNet's annual research conference and general meeting, will be held at the Westin Nova Scotian, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Sept. 29 through Oct. 2. For details go to: www.aquanet.mun.ca.

Protecting and Restoring Salmon Habitat: Lessons Learned from around the World will be held Oct. 15, at the University of Maine Wells Conference Center, Orono, Maine. Practitioners from Ireland, Scotland, Ontario, Washington, Oregon, California and Maine will focus on the use of watershed assessments to establish criteria and prioritization schemes for determining which habitats to protect and restore and why. They will also describe how citizens, communities, land owners, government and scientists have collaborated to protect and restore habitat and bring back the salmon. Sponsors include the Atlantic Salmon Commission and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. For more information call (207) 725-2833 or (207) 586-5616.

The New England Chapter of the Society of Wetland Scientists Regional Research Conference is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 19 at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The purpose of the conference is to increase communication among all wetland scientists in New England and provide opportunities for researchers to share their findings. For registration information contact Catherine Owen at (603) 899-4322.

Gulf of Maine Benthic Mapping Workshop, Oct. 22 and 23, will be held at the Sebasco Harbor Resort near Bath, Maine. Sponsored by the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the aim is to improve coordination between researchers and users on marine characterization and mapping initiatives in order to develop a five year plan for benthic mapping in the Gulf of Maine. For more information contact Susan Snow-Cotter: Susan.Snow-Cotter@state.ma.us.

A Sustainable Community Workshop, coordinated by Atlantic Coastal Action Program/Cape Breton and Environment Canada, is scheduled for Oct. 24 to 26 at the Delta Sydney in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Presentations include developing a sustainable community vision, linking the environment/economy/society with an ecosystem approach, connecting environment and health, and measuring progress toward sustainability. For information e-mail ACAP/Cape Breton, acapcb@acapcb.ns.ca, or phone (902) 567-1628.

Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities (GPA) will hold its first intergovernmental review meeting, Nov. 26 to 30, in Montreal, Canada. Hosted by the Government of Canada, the meeting will bring together senior representatives from more than 100 governments, a large number of international organizations, global and regional nongovernmental organizations and the private sector. Topics include: awareness raising, the lack of funds as a major impediment for dealing with land-based problems, the need to significantly increase private sector involvement, and the development of a long-term work plan for the GPA within the framework of a new long-term vision. Visit the GPA clearing-house at www.gpa.unep.org/igr for more information.